Kathmandu. The Internet Service Providers Association of Nepal (ISPAN) has sought 15 days more time for the management of electric poles in the Kathmandu Valley for years.

In a meeting of the stakeholders held at the Ministry of Information and Communications today, ISPAN said that more time is needed to complete the work. The meeting was attended by representatives of Ministry of Information and Communications, Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Nepal Telecommunication Authority, Nepal Telecom, ISPAN and other related agencies.

Minister for Information and Communications Dr. On the occasion, Bikram Timilsina directed the concerned officials to complete the project within the stipulated time, while suggesting the progress of the management of the wires and the problems surfaced in course of their implementation. Reiterating that the government was ready to address the real problems, he directed the government to carry out works so that the results are visible.

Minister Timilsina said, “The government will take the wire management to its conclusion. It may take some time to work, but now the time cannot be extended. He also urged ISPAN to inform the government on time about the problems seen in the work and the issues that the government should take to resolve it.

Stating that unsystematic wire management is the legal and professional responsibility of the service providers, he said that the present situation would not have been created if such work had been carried out in the past. He also directed to conduct a study on the arrangement where different service providers can use the same infrastructure in a common manner for long-term solution.

Expressing dissatisfaction over the performance of both service provider and regulatory bodies, Minister Timilsina said that failure to complete the work on time was a failure on the part of both ISPAN and the regulator Nepal Telecommunication Authority. He made it clear that the tendency of the government to help resolve the problems but not working was not acceptable.

“ISPAN has asked for another 15 days’ time. Earlier, the government had promised to complete the project by July 30. Now we need a credible basis to complete the work within the requested time. ”

In the meeting, ISPAN Chief Executive Officer Subhas Khadka informed that 58 percent of the six routes have been completed so far in the Kathmandu Valley. According to him, the wire management works are going on in other parts of the country as well along with the Kathmandu Valley. He opined that the establishment of a separate infrastructure company was necessary for long-term solution to the problem.

ISPAN had also raised the issue of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) not having adequate infrastructure for managing the internet and cable cables while laying underground power lines. Informing that the service providers themselves were expanding underground internet wires in Kalanki-Thankot, Chabahil-Bouddha and other areas as a pilot project, ISPAN said it was preparing to add human resources.

According to ISPAN, the required human resources from Nepal Electricity Authority and Nepal Telecommunication Authority will not be available in the field, police will stop the workers, the traffic police will remove the ladders and there is a shortage of skilled human resources. ISPAN has also informed that a strategy will be adopted to complete the work as soon as possible by concentrating the available manpower in one area.

On July 31, Minister for Information and Communications, Dr. In a high-level interagency meeting jointly attended by Bikram Timilsina and Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Biraj Bhakta Shrestha, ISPAN expressed its commitment to complete the unsystematic wire management in six areas of Kathmandu Valley by July 30.

The meeting also decided to make the Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) the leading and regulatory role, to make it mandatory for all service providers to have clear identification tags on their cables, to carry out regular coordination among the bodies concerned and to continuously review the progress.

In the first phase, the plan is to install unsystematic wires in six places—Tripureshwor-Kalimati-Kalanki, Jadibuti-Pepsi-Cola, Tripureshwor-Lazimpat, Samakhusi-Town Planning-Gongabu, Kirtipur area and Old Baneshwor-Gaushala-Chabahil.